Beyond Forecasting: Strengthening Pakistan’s Flood Early Warning System for Local Action

Pakistan stands on the frontline of climate change. From devastating riverine floods to increasingly frequent flash floods, hill torrents, urban flooding, and Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs), communities across the country are facing a new generation of rapidly evolving hazards.

Pakistan has made significant progress in strengthening its Flood Early Warning System (FEWS) over the past several decades. Investments in hydro-meteorological monitoring, weather forecasting, river flow prediction, and institutional coordination have improved the country's ability to anticipate flood risks, particularly for large riverine floods. Yet the floods in the recent past, especially the monsoon seasons of 2022 and 2025, provided a stark reminder of the challenges of dealing with fast-onset floods. While forecasting agencies were able to anticipate seasonal conditions and issue warnings, many communities still experienced what stakeholders described as “zero effective lead time”, the period between receiving a warning and being able to act upon it. 

Recognizing these challenges, in response to the Floods of 2025 in Pakistan, UNESCO initiated a comprehensive review of Pakistan's Flood Early Warning System (FEWS). The study assessed the entire warning chain, from risk knowledge and monitoring to forecasting, warning dissemination, preparedness, and community response while considering both riverine and rapid-onset hazards such as flash floods, debris flows, urban flooding, and Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs).

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